


a helping hand

by MaddieContrary



Category: A Royal Affair (2012), Hysteria (2011)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27756889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieContrary/pseuds/MaddieContrary
Summary: Mortimer Granville needed to find a job after being fired from his previous establishment. After a series of rejections, he finally found one atDr. Struensee's Clinic, not knowing that his meeting with Dr. Johann Struensee would blossom into something more.
Relationships: Mortimer Granville/Johann Struensee
Comments: 13
Kudos: 59





	a helping hand

**Author's Note:**

> I watched Hysteria with the ACOC server last week and fell in love with Mortimer, and thoughts of a Mads' HEU character being Emily / Charlotte's dad wouldn't leave my head, so I had to pair him up with someone. Cue me watching _A Royal Affair_ (because Johann's a physician and I thought they would be cute together, so why not) and then falling in love with poor Johann, so I had to give _him_ a happier ending.
> 
> So here goes: a fic that me and probably one other person would enjoy XD
> 
> (As usual, this is unbeta'd so please excuse any awful typos or un-British lines or other egregious errors, I tried my best!)
> 
>  **Update:** Now updated with Flyingsnail's wonderful art, thank you so much T_T Please check out their awesome art on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/CJvmWELjXiQ/?igshid=uzy667ls9cbu) or [Tumblr](https://flyingsnail-art.tumblr.com/post/639656164235362304/i-was-inspired-by-a-wonderful-fic-written-by-my), they are incredible <3

Mortimer Granville was not someone who gave up easily, even with so many rejections under his belt — or perhaps  _ because _ he was used to being rejected wherever he went, at least until Edmund’s family had kindly taken him in. The Lord and Lady St. John-Smithe had acted as his surrogate parents at some point, and their patronage of him had opened many doors of opportunities for him. Eventually, he became Dr. Mortimer Granville, though that didn’t mean that his days of rejections were over.

Sighing when he entered the spacious living area he shared with Edmund, he groaned as he slumped into one of the couches. Edmund was playing with some confounded invention of his, looking distracted when Mortimer walked in. 

“What’s wrong, now?” Edmund asked, eyebrow raised, though he continued to fiddle with the odd-looking contraption in his hand, looking distracted still.

“Another rejection,” Mortimer said morosely, staring as the feather in Edmund’s hand began rotating with the motorized machine. “Must’ve been the seventeenth one.”

“Surely you’re exaggerating,” Edmund replied, rolling his eyes. He turned the motor off then and set the machine aside. “Besides, I’ve offered you plenty of times before, why can’t you just take the bloody money and start your own practice.”

“Not this again,” Mortimer groaned. “Please, I’ve already used up so much of your parents’ kindness, not to mention their fortune. Starting up my practice would take  _ years, _ and it would take many more years than that to repay them. It would be much easier if I could start at a reputable practice and build myself from there.”

Edmund rolled his eyes again. “Truly, my parents have more money than they know what to do with.” He gestured to the invention he’d put aside, eyebrows raised. “Case in point.”

Mortimer snorted, though his smile was short-lived. “Never mind about the money. I’ll give it another go tomorrow. There’s at least one place I haven’t tried to look into.”

“Oh? Not reputable enough for you?” Edmund teased.

“Oh, shut it,” Mortimer laughed. “No, it’s just… well, I didn’t quite know what to make of the listing I saw in the papers. Apparently, the establishment was quite well-known for treating women with hysteria.”

Edmund’s brow did shoot up at that, looking impressed. “Well. That sounds like an interesting practice, then.”

Mortimer hummed. “Yes, well, I’ll give it a look tomorrow. At this rate, I’m desperate enough to try my hand at  _ anything. _ ”

“That’s the spirit,” Edmund cheered, and that earned him a smack of a pillow at any rate.

The next day found Mortimer standing in front of a fancy-looking building with an engraved sign above the door that said “Dr. Struensee’s Clinic”. An understated name for what Mortimer knew to lie beyond the door if he knew anything about treating hysteria (which was to say, not much at this point). 

He admitted himself into the building after counting to three, and once he entered the building, he looked around and found himself inside a waiting room of some sort. Several women were waiting in their seats, all of them looking at him curiously when he entered.

Well. As far as first impressions go, it looked like Dr. Struensee’s practice was booming. Mortimer was gratified to find it so. A busy clinic would require some assistance, after all, or so he hoped. 

Keeping his head down, he looked around and failed to find anyone who could tell him where Dr. Struensee might be, and so he hovered near the doorway so that he might observe the environment while he waited. 

After several minutes, a door which Mortimer had been watching — for it was the only door that bore a plaque of the doctor’s name on it — opened, and he observed silently as a woman came out of the room, talking excitedly of her next appointment as she was ushered out by a handsome-looking man. The man was speaking patiently with the woman as he led her to the main door, his soft accented voice reaching Mortimer from where he was standing.

“—of course, Mrs. Wright, I’ll see you next week,” he was saying as he waved the woman away, shutting the door on her at last.

When he turned to smile at the rest of the patrons in his waiting room, his eyes landed on Mortimer’s figure, where he had stood for some time now, feeling awkward as if he was intruding on something.

The man raised a brow then, though he merely looked curious rather than offended at Mortimer’s presence. “May I help you, Mister…?”

“Granville,” Mortimer said immediately, taking a few steps forward and extending a hand out to the other man. “Uh, Dr. Mortimer Granville, at your service.” 

The man merely looked amused before he took Mortimer’s hand in his and shook it firmly. “Indeed,” he replied. “And what service it is do you think I would need, Dr. Granville?”

“Oh, uh.” Mortimer glanced around, the weight of every woman's gaze heavy on them at the conversation taking place. “Shall we… take it to somewhere a bit more private? You… am I presuming right that you are Dr. Struensee?”

The man merely hummed and smiled before he nodded. “Indeed I am. Pleased to meet you.” Then he looked to the other women. “Well, what say you, ladies? Shall I let the good doctor take a few minutes of your time?”

The women tittered and smiled as Dr. Struensee uttered these words, though they eventually relented. Mortimer bowed to them with a smile and promised not to take too much of their time as he followed the doctor inside the physician’s room, the door closing behind him sounding loud in the relative silence of the room.

Mortimer looked around with wonder at the vast room he found himself in. It looked lavish and beautifully furnished, and there were walls of books along the corners of the room, the tall windows letting plenty of sunlight in, giving the room natural lighting during the day. The spacious room was equipped with a corner where there were several foldable panels; this was where the patient would presumably be expected to remove their clothing for the physician’s examination. There was also another corner with another foldable panel, and Mortimer could only make out the edge of a bed before his attention was called to Dr. Struensee once more.

“Well, Dr. Granville,” the man said, having seated himself at his desk. He gestured to the opposite seat. “I would appreciate it if you could let me know what sort of service you’re offering me?”

“Oh, yes!” Mortimer said, stumbling into the seat and taking out his carefully written resume out of his briefcase. “I’m terribly sorry to take your time, but I was wondering if you would consider having me on as an attending physician? Or in any case, I’m looking for a job where I could practice the skills I’ve acquired thus far.”

Dr. Struensee took the piece of paper out of his hand, his eyes scanning the page swiftly. “Hmm, you have quite an impressive record, though I note that you’ve been let go by two clinics so far.”

Mortimer winced. “Yes, well… The main physician and I could not see eye to eye.”

Dr. Struensee’s eyes met his at that. “And do you think that you and I would?”

Flushing, Mortimer nodded rapidly. “Oh yes! I assure you, I’m quite dedicated to the cause,” he rambled. “I merely ask that you give me a few weeks, at least, to make myself useful, and if you think that my skills are of no use to you, then I will leave willingly.”

Dr. Struensee hummed, eyes going back to the paper in his hand. After several more moments of silence, he returned the resume to Mortimer and smiled at him. “Well, I have been busy of late,” he allowed, “and I was thinking of training someone to take over the practice eventually. It seems you have come to be here at the right time. Welcome aboard, Dr. Granville.”

Mortimer blinked, his jaw opening before he could control it. Shaking himself out of his shock, he leaped to his feet and shook Dr. Struensee’s hand enthusiastically, though he apologized when the doctor seemed to wince at the force of it. “Oh, thank you, Dr. Struensee! You won’t regret it, I’m sure!”

Stroking his wrist warily, Dr. Struensee only smiled and nodded. “I’ll have Emily draw you up the contract, and we’ll go over your terms once my patients have been tended to. You’ll be paid seventy pounds a month, and room and boarding are of course included.”

“Oh, that’s very generous,” Mortimer gushed. “Thank you, Dr. Struensee, I will prove my worth to you.”

His smile more genuine now, he gestured Mortimer to the door. “Come, I’ll take you to see Emily so she can tell you more. Oh, and please, call me Johann.”

“Emily”, as it turned out, was Dr. Johann Struensee’s daughter. 

She had seemed amiable enough as she welcomed him into a parlor, where she had sat down with him to go over the terms of his employment. Her keen blue eyes were shrewd as she spoke to him, her innocent features belying her intelligence, as Mortimer soon found out.

“So what are your experiences?” she had asked when they first sat down for tea. 

And Mortimer had answered her, thinking nothing of it until she asked more and more questions pertaining to the field of medicine he’d dabbled into within the last several years, whereupon he came across the realization that there was more to her than her beauty and amiability.

“I think you are a more ruthless interviewer than Dr. Johann,” Mortimer said eventually, once Emily had run out of further questions and they finally drank their cooling tea. 

Emily smiled mischievously. “I’ve been told that several times,” she admitted, looking slightly sheepish. “I must apologize if I come across too forward.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright,” Mortimer said, returning the grin. “I find it quite refreshing, truth be told. This is quite an interesting practice your father has started.”

“Isn’t it?” she agreed cheerfully, taking a sip of her tea. “It’s gathered quite a loyal crowd in the past few years.”

“So, do you find me acceptable enough to admit me into the practice?” 

Emily hummed. “Well, Papa usually leaves it up to me for the final decision. I’ll have you know that I’ve turned away most of them. They always come away thinking of me as the glorified secretary.”

“I imagine you proved them wrong after several minutes of conversing with you.” 

“Quite.” Emily grinned. “Well, I do look forward to working with you. Papa usually takes a doctor under apprenticeship for several days to see if they’re a good fit, but I think I might put in a few good words for you. You seem like a nice gentleman who has a way with their hands.”

“Oh, well,” Mortimer said, straightening in his seat. “I can assure you that I’m quite handy in all things, and even my former physicians would have to admit that I have the steadiest hands out of all the apprentices they’ve had.”

“Good!” Emily said, grinning. “Because you are going to need it.”

“Edmund, guess what!”

“Have you been rejected again, dear boy? As I’ve told you countless times before—”

“Oh shut up and listen to someone else when they talk, would you?”

A soft laughter. “Yes, yes, I’m listening. What woeful tales would you have me listen to today, dear friend?”

“Oh, I was accepted into an apprenticeship at Dr. Struensee’s clinic!”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Congratulations! Though hang on, why do you say apprenticeship?”

“Oh, it’s sort of a trial period, but I do have to say I have a good feeling about this. You should see the practice! It’s practically bursting with patients, and all of them eager women too. It would seem the good doctor knows a thing or two at treating hysteria, or the waiting room wouldn’t have been as full, would it?”

“Well, well, I never thought I’d see the day! I wish you luck, Mortimer. Though you know you’re always welcomed here, in case it doesn’t work out, don’t you?”

A huff of laughter. “Thank you for your extreme confidence in my ability or lack thereof.”

“Oh, you know me. Always here for an encouraging talk.”

“Mmmhmm, sure. Now what kind of dandy invention do you have for your parents now?”

Mortimer went into Dr. Struensee’s Clinic early the next morning with a few baggages for his smattering of belongings. Truthfully he didn’t own much and had preferred to keep a sparse wardrobe in any case; the drab weather in London didn’t endear one to much decorative clothing. 

Emily greeted him with a smile at his arrival, and she had led him to an empty room next to hers before she had left him to it. Depositing the bags on the floor, he turned to have a look around his room for the next few weeks. It was larger than he had anticipated, and he was grateful that there were a few cabinets where he could put his personal belongings. In his excitement, he’d brought some of his books with him, though he knew the doctor had a massive library which he hoped he would be able to peruse.

Once he had unpacked his meager belongings, he made himself presentable and turned to go outside. 

To his surprise, a maid was waiting for him outside of the room, the woman smiling widely when she saw Mortimer.

“Hello there,” she said. “Dr. Granville, I presume?”

“Oh, just Mortimer is fine,” he said, smiling. 

“Right,” she agreed. “My name is Molly. Johann and Emily are having their breakfast in the parlor if you’d care to follow me.”

“Oh, yes, please, lead the way.”

When Mortimer made his way into the dining parlor, he was once again struck at the elegance of the room. It seemed that the doctor must have made his fortune in his practice, or perhaps he had come from wealth. In any case, such opulence was something he’d gotten used to at the John-Smithe household, but he had never seen a flourishing practice having such grandiose decorations. 

“Dr. Granville,” Johann said, smiling as Mortimer took his seat. “Good morning. I trust you’ve made yourself comfortable?”

“Oh, yes, thank you so much, the room is excellent,” Mortimer said, smiling as he began to dig into his meal. “And please, call me Mortimer.”

Johann merely nodded with another smile, resuming into his meal silently.

“So,” Emily began with a smile. “How are you feeling? Are you ready for a truly grueling day ahead?”

“Now, Emily, don’t scare him off before we begin,” Johann warned.

“Oh, so  _ you  _ could do it instead?” Emily said pertly.

Johann threw her a fond smile. “Well, in any case, today you’ll be mostly observing what I do,” he said to Mortimer. “And hopefully you’ll pick it up soon enough. Once you’re more comfortable with how the treatment is done, then we’ll see how soon you can apply what you’ve learned.”

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Mortimer agreed. 

They continued to eat their meal silently then, Emily occasionally talking as she related what she had read and learned yesterday. Johann looked at her with such fondness that Mortimer couldn’t help but smile at the two of them. It was at times like this that he was reminded of his parents, gone too soon and too long ago for him to remember the details of them, though he remembered their warm laughter and even warmer embrace when they had tucked him into bed.

Shaking his head out of his reverie, Mortimer forced himself to focus his attention back on the conversation, and soon enough, Emily laid down the schedule for the day until they finished their meal.

When Mortimer had envisioned what would happen behind the physician’s closed doors, it was certainly not this. 

A woman was lying down on the bed in front of them, Johann standing on one side as he explained to Mortimer the procedure they were about to go through. Though the woman was technically fully clothed, her skirt had been bunched up across her waist, her modesty covered by a tent over the lower half of her body, though Mortimer was beginning to learn just what was going to happen.

As Johann began his administrations, Mortimer tried to keep his face from flushing at the sight and sound of the doctor’s fingers dipping inside. Johann looked nonchalant as he explained the steps of the procedure to cure a woman’s hysteria, and Mortimer did try to make himself pay attention to grasp just what it was he was expected to do.

When the first procedure was over with, Johann had thanked the woman pleasantly, and Mortimer had been tasked to bring the next patient inside.

And so his first day passed by in a truly confusing manner.

At the end of the day, he sat down with Johann at the doctor’s desk, both of drinking whiskey after a long day of work. 

“So, what did you think?” Johann asked, eyes twinkling mischievously as his eyes searched Mortimer’s face. 

“I, ah,” Mortimer rasped, trying not to cough from the whiskey going into the wrong channel. After clearing his throat, he started again. “I’ve learned quite a lot,” he admitted before he let out a sheepish laugh. “Though I don’t think I’ve heard of this sort of treatment before.”

The doctor looked amused still. “Well, I hope you’ve learned a lot, as you are expected to do the procedure sometime this week.”

Mortimer nodded. “Uh, I might need to shadow you for another day or two before I’m comfortable with it.”

“Of course,” Johann said, nodding and taking another sip. “There’s no shame to this kind of job, you know.”

“Oh, yes! I know,” Mortimer said, eager to clear any misgivings the other doctor might still have about him. “It’s just I didn’t expect it, I think. I’m quite sure I am up to the task, however. So, uh, you should have no worries on that front.”

Johann nodded again. “If you’re more comfortable with men, I could assign you to the male patients.”

Mortimer did choke on his whiskey, then. “Oh?” he asked, trying to make himself sound as nonchalant as he could as he inhaled. “There are… men after these services?”

“Oh yes. Though I often schedule them on alternate days. Women on one day, the men on the next. You could choose which you’d prefer.”

Mortimer nodded, his face surely flushing by how warm he felt. “O-of course. Uh. So tomorrow will be a demonstration for the men?”

“Quite so,” Johann said, grinning at the uncomfortable look on Mortimer’s face. “You need not force yourself, you know. I’d be more than willing to let you handle the women only if the thought of men’s bodies scares you so much.”

Mortimer’s face reddened further. “It doesn’t  _ scare _ me,” he blustered, huffing indignantly. “I’ve studied and practiced medicine for close to five years, sir. I assure you I’ve seen a great many bodies, alive or otherwise, in the course of my studies. It’s just that I, uh, I think I’d rather be in charge of the women only for now if you’re amenable to that.”

“Didn’t I just say?” Johann replies, looking amused. “You mustn’t be so flustered at the thought that men also require to service their own needs. Have you not heard of the prostate health exam before?”

Mortimer blinked. “I’ve heard of it, though I haven’t come across such practices before in the course of my career. Do you mean to say the men come here to… seek relief through the examination and subsequent treatment?”

Johann hummed. “I’ve been told that the examination could be quite pleasant, just as the treatment had been pleasant for women’s hysteria.” He took a few more sips of his drink. “Well, if you change your mind, you can let me or Emily know, of course. For tomorrow, I suggest you do some readings then on the cure and treatments available if you’re quite set on not joining me. You can sit in on the consultations and make note of what I do, though you do not need to join the examination if you don’t wish to. I have several texts on the matter in my library, and you’re welcome to peruse them if you need to.”

Mortimer brightened at the invitation. “Oh! I’d love nothing more than that. Thank you, Dr— Johann.”

Johann smiled and raised his glass in a mock salute before he threw the rest of his drink back into his mouth.

The next day, Mortimer made good on the doctor’s promise to peruse the books in his office and library, though the required texts were mostly located inside the physician’s room. While he secured the texts he wanted to read, Johann set about preparing the room for his patients’ arrival, Emily helping him with some of the medical contraptions around the bed. 

Curious despite himself, Mortimer looked on as Emily and Johann set up the bed and fittings that Mortimer assumed would go around the patients’ legs as they were examined. A modesty tent was, of course, placed where the lower half of the patient’s body would be situated when they lie down on the bed.

“What are the straps for?” Mortimer asked, curious. 

Johann turned to him with a smirk. “Have you ever been kicked by a patient while you’re treating them?”

Mortimer smiled in return. “A handful of times, though I suspect your situation would prove to be more painful in this case.”

“Quite,” Johann replied dryly. “I’ve learned my lessons and have had them installed for the men since. The women are much more civilized, though I can’t say the same if they are giving birth; in which case, I’d suggest you stay away from their feet unless you’re the attending physician.”

Mortimer laughed. “It sounds like you have quite some interesting stories to tell.”

“Oh, Papa has seen all sorts of patients before we opened our practice here,” Emily said, getting ready to exit the room once the preparations were over with. “Well, enjoy the lesson for the day! You’ll know where to find me if it gets too much.” With a wink and a cheeky smile, Emily left the room.

Mortimer stared at Johann consideringly as the man straightened himself, looking regal and beautiful in his coat. Shaking his head at the intruding thoughts, he asked instead: “What sort of life did you have before you come here?”

Johann threw him a smile. “Is now really the time for an interview? And what made you think I came here? I could’ve been born here.”

“Your name and accent indicate your place of origin,” Mortimer said simply, shrugging. “I apologize if I assumed wrongly, of course. I’ve been told that I run off my mouth too much sometimes.”

“From your previous patrons, I assume?”

“Yes, and their son, Edmund,” Mortimer said, laughing. “Though they are right, I do have a tendency to ramble on and on sometimes.”

“Hmm. Much as I’d like to find out more, I think our patients are ready for us now.”

“Oh yes, of course. Let me just… take my place.”

Mortimer took a seat several paces away from where the bed was propped up, a stylus and a notebook in his lap as he waited for the first patient to come in. Johann had set up a partition near the bed so that Mortimer would be more or less concealed in his corner during the examination, as Johann had said that his patients value their privacy. It seemed odd that the women required no such privacy, though Mortimer had kept his thoughts to himself.

As soon as a man emerged into the room, Johann clasped the man’s hand and welcomed him inside, immediately ushering him to the corner where the patient was to undress, both of them conversing genially with each other the entire time. Mortimer heard Johann telling the patient that there would be an apprentice overseeing the entire procedure, though said apprentice would remain concealed, to which the patient grunted in approval.

“It’s bad enough that you have to see me for this,” the man joked. “I had hoped no one else needed to see such a mess.”

“Our bodily functions are a mess, but you mustn’t disparage it so,” Johann retorted. “More so if they’re essential to our well-being. Now, if you could get onto the bed and I will strap you in.”

“Of course, of course.” There was a rustling of fabric and the creak of the bed as the man swayed and settled himself onto it, and Mortimer could only make out part of the man’s torso and the lower half of the man’s body, the patient’s face remaining hidden behind the partition. 

Mortimer observed as Johann made quick work of strapping the man’s legs inside the stirrups, tightening the straps to ensure that his legs held still before Johann placed the tent over the man’s groin. 

“All right, if you’re ready, sir?”

“Yes, yes, please, get on with it.”

Johann gave the man a cursory smile before he started to pump a generous amount of oil onto his palm, rubbing his palms together and coating his fingers with the substance before the doctor pressed his finger slowly inside the man.

Though Mortimer could not exactly see what was happening, there was only one place where he knew the fingers would go for a prostate examination. Johann took a few minutes with his administration, the grunts from the patient sounding more annoyed rather than pained. The grunts turned into suppressed moans soon enough, and Mortimer could feel his face reddening at witnessing such a spectacle though he kept his eyes on Johann’s hand, barely concealed by the tent from where Mortimer was seated. The doctor obviously knew what he was doing as he twisted and pressed his fingers inside, aiming his fingers into the patient’s inner walls patiently until, at last, the patient grunted with relief when the seminal fluid had presumably emerged from the patient. 

Looking satisfied, Johann took his fingers out and submerged his hand into a bowl of cool, iced water before he dabbed it clean with a soft cloth. With that done, he handed a damp washcloth to the gentleman still lying on his back, and the man took it gratefully with another grunt before he wiped himself down cursorily.

“You may get dressed now,” Johann said, gesturing to the other corner of the room.

“Yes, of course, thank you, doctor, as always. I feel much better after my visits here.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Once the patient had made his way out of the room, Mortimer rose from his seat and put his inked stylus and (empty) notebook aside, making himself useful by replacing the cold water and the used cloth with a new one. Johann smiled at him approvingly before he sat down to make a few notes on the patient.

Johann only looked up once he was done with the task, giving Mortimer another smile. “Well? What did you think of the first lesson?”

“Oh, well, I suppose you can say it was illuminating,” Mortimer said with a laugh. “It seemed to take much less time for the male patients to find their relief, compared to the ladies.”

“Yes, once you know where to seek the points, it would be something you would be able to do blindfolded,” Johann said cheekily, putting his stylus aside as he rose once again. “Would you call the next patient in, please?”

And so the day went by, and by the end of his second day of training, Mortimer had heard enough grunts and moans from strangers to last him a lifetime. Johann seemed immune to it all, and he only smirked at Mortimer when he offered a drink to him at the end of the workday, the last of their patients exiting the room five minutes ago by his count.

“Do you always take so many patients in a day?” Mortimer asked, nodding his thanks as he took the glass of brandy from Johann’s proffered hand.

“I used to take a lot more, at the height of the treatment’s popularity,” Johann replied, leaning back in his chair. “I do admit I’m getting a bit tired at the practice, which was part of the reason I’m looking to pass on my expertise to someone who would learn and eventually take over the practice, of course.”

Mortimer hummed and nodded, taking a sip of his drink. “Well, it’s a lucrative business, I’ll give you that. I had no idea that such practices existed in such a location before this.”

“I suppose you expected this to be situated in a row along with the whore houses,” Johann teased, grinning at the affronted look on Mortimer’s face.

“That’s not what I meant,” Mortimer retorted. “I just… I’ve never sought out this kind of treatment before, I suppose, so I never thought much of it. I was used to manning sickbeds and those who are sometimes at death’s door before this.”

Johann nodded. “It’s good to gain your experience from the sickhouses, of course. A lot of the professors would say that it gives you more grit and strength, though I would also like to note that some of these professors don’t practice what they preach.”

Mortimer laughed and raised his glass in agreement. “Well, I’ll have a drink to that.” 

They continue to drink in contemplative silence for several more minutes before Mortimer gathered up enough courage to ask the question he’d been dying to ask since this morning’s conversation with the older man. He cleared his throat before speaking, feeling shy for some odd reason.

“Would you mind telling me how you came to this sort of practice?”

Johann raised his brows, though he said nothing more for a while as he nursed his drink, looking contemplatively out the tall window panels, gaze unseeing.

“I came here to gain some experience, outside of the work I have done in German and Denmark. Here, I met my wife, Caroline,” he eventually said, voice soft and gaze still set on the scenery outside. “She was born and bred here, of course. I fell in love with her when I came here for an apprenticeship, and here I stayed for several years before she gave me a daughter. Her family was born with money and estate, and so I had made use of it at the time, as I opened a practice a decade earlier. I was a general physician then, and business flourished, though Caroline did not. She came down with an illness that I couldn’t cure.” 

Johann sighed and turned to meet Mortimer’s gaze then. “By then, the cure for hysteria had been a much-lauded discovery, and so I turned my attention to that for my practice. It wasn’t as exciting, perhaps, but I’d like to think I’m still helping people with their needs.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mortimer murmured. “And so you raised Emily alone?”

“For the past five years at least, yes,” Johann replied, sighing. “She’s perfectly lovely, of course. I’ve had no trouble from her at all beyond the usual young people’s perennially changeable moods.”

“I can’t say I’ve had much experience of that,” Mortimer said, chuckling. “I’ve been an orphan for as long as I could remember, though I have Lord and Lady St. John-Smithe to thank for my current situation. Lord knows what would happen to me if they didn’t take me under their guidance.”

Johann smiled. “I’m glad they found you, then. All the better for me to find a suitable apprentice. As you can imagine, most of the doctors around here look down on this sort of treatment, though I tend to take a more pragmatic view of the whole thing. After all, if a service is needed, why not provide for it?”

Mortimer hummed. “Well, I still have much to learn, I suspect. The last two days had been… particularly eye-opening.”

“You jumped right into the deep end.” Johann laughed. “But thank you, I appreciate the company.”

Mortimer smiled, raising his glass for a toast. Johann chuckled before raising his in reciprocation, and together they made a toast to their newfound friendship.

***

Time passed by faster than Mortimer thought it would, and he was surprised to realize that it had been almost three months since he first became Johann’s apprentice at Dr. Struensee’s Clinic. 

The last three months had been a whirlwind of activities, and Mortimer found himself busy juggling his duties as well as his “studies” into the treatments Johann’s clinic offered to its patients. He found himself growing immune to it all soon enough; just as it had taken him only a few weeks to get used to the sight and smell of a corpse, it was easy to adjust to the things he was exposed to every day, after all. Humans were particularly remarkable at adapting to things, as he had found. 

His friendship with Emily grew, and she had invited him to study with her at times when there was a particular lull during the weekend. Sometimes Johann would join them in their studies, and the quiet time would often evolve into long-winded conversations and even some debates at times, the three of them fond of exchanging their ideas and opinions. 

Mortimer enjoyed his developing relationship with the two of them immensely, and he let Edmund know as much whenever he visited his friend.

“They’re really lovely people,” Mortimer was saying as he and Edmund lounged around the other man’s study. “I do wonder why Johann never remarried after his wife passed away; it would’ve been hard for someone as busy as him to take care of a daughter alone.”

Edmund was tinkering with a device at his work table while he listened to Mortimer. “Hmm, well, did you ask him that?”

“It’s not something you can simply ask someone, is it?” Mortimer laughed. 

“You’ve been known to ask more offensive things,” Edmun replied cheerfully.

Mortimer rolled his eyes. “Thank you, as always, for your insights.”

“You’re welcome,” Edmund said, grinning as he turned to Mortimer. “Perhaps that was why he changed his practice — it would be easier to care for your child if you’re not always called in for some sort of emergency, I suppose.”

“Fair point,” Mortimer conceded. “It is an odd sort of practice, isn’t it?”

“No more odder than the whore houses people visit,” Edmund said, shrugging. “People will find their pleasures where they could, of course.”

Eyebrows raised, Mortimer huffed a laugh. “You’re right, of course. But to find pleasure in this sort of treatment? It’s…”

He couldn’t quite find the words to describe it, so he merely shrugged in the end. Sure, most of the patients had looked as if they were… enthusiastic with the treatment, and Mortimer was glad that he could bring such relief to the patients he’d dealt with (though until now, he hadn’t dared to ask for Johann to allow him to take the male patients). But the treatment wasn’t meant to be  _ pleasurable. _ It was meant to give them relief.

“Don’t judge,” Edmund replied, laughing. “It can be quite a religious experience if you find the right pair of hands.” This was delivered with a wink and a particularly lecherous smile, to which Mortimer responded by throwing a crumpled piece of paper at his friend’s head.

Edmund laughed, dodging the paper easily. “All I’m saying is: don’t presume to criticize it until you’ve tried it at least once.”

“Wait.” Mortimer frowned. “Are you saying that you’ve… done it before?”

“Well yes, though I think I’ve only done it once or twice years ago.” Edmund shrugged. “It was a long time ago, and to be honest I think I might’ve been drunk at the time. Still, I thought it was a pretty pleasurable experience, all in all. Hmm, might be interesting to check your friend’s practice out.”

Mortimer laughed, though the thought didn’t quite sit well with him somehow. He quelled his feelings down, feeling oddly disconcerted by his own emotions. “Well, be my guest if you want to have a go at it again, I suppose. Though I hope you don’t expect me to be there to attend to you personally.”

“You know, I think I’ll take you up on that,” Edmund mused. “I’ll see the good doctor tomorrow, shall I?”

Edmund seemed to make good at his promise, the man showing up at the clinic the next day when Mortimer opened the door for him.

“Oh!” Mortimer exclaimed, laughing. “I didn’t think you were serious.”

“When have you known me to jest?” Edmund said as he walked into the treatment room.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” 

“No, it was rhetorical. Oh, hello, you must be Dr. Struensee then! Mortimer has told me all about you of course.”

Johann looked amused as Edmund leaned forward to shake his hand. “All good things, I hope.”

“Extremely good things,” Edmund said, grinning. 

“Yes, quite,” Mortimer quipped, face reddening. “So you’re to be our last patient of the day, it seems.”

Edmund hummed as he paced inside the room, his curious eyes taking in the surroundings. “Quite a nice practice you have here, doctor. And may I say, your library is impressive.”

“I have a fondness for reading,” Johann said modestly.

“He has another study with more books in it than  _ you _ would know what to do with,” Mortimer said, throwing a teasing grin at Edmund.

“Oh, this is how you do your setup!” Edmund exclaimed as his eyes landed on the patient’s bed and the contraptions surrounding it. “Interesting; things must have advanced since I last visited this kind of practice.”

“Ah, so you’re not a novice at this,” Johann said approvingly. “Well, if you would like to accommodate me by removing your trousers over there? Then we can get you strapped in for your examination.”

Edmund was only too happy to obey, looking delighted at the prospect. While Mortimer took his usual seat and settled in for his observation, he couldn’t help but feel slightly perturbed at the thought of observing his friend for the examination. Sure, he’d listened to the sounds of countless men as they’re probed and examined, though he’d never needed to listen to them when it was someone he knew intimately. 

As he was lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed that Edmund had taken his place on the bed and Johann was now busying himself with the straps around the man’s thighs. Mortimer watched and listened as Johann explained each step of the process while he carried out the examination. 

Edmund’s voice floated to him from the other side, and Mortimer stayed silent (as he always did when he observed) when his friend began to make soft approving noises once the examination began. 

Though Mortimer had known that his friend was shameless in all of his pursuits and enjoyment of the finer things in life, he had never had to  _ listen  _ to it. His face was burning by the end of the examination, and he kept his head low while Edmund and Johann conversed as Edmund was cleaning himself up before putting on his trousers again.

He’s sure his face was still red with mortification when Edmund found him behind the partitions, the man grinning insufferably at the look on Mortimer’s face. 

“Well, that was an interesting examination!” Edmund said cheerfully. “I think it was a better experience when you’re not drunk, though I suppose I’d have to do it drunk next time to be able to compare it fairly — it was years ago since I’d done it last.”

Mortimer rolled his eyes and tried to keep his face straight as he rose to show Edmund to the exit. “You are such an insufferable friend.”

“Point taken!” Edmund laughed. Dropping his voice and throwing a glance at Johann, who was busy cleaning himself up, Edmund leaned in closer to him. “Truly, though? If you want to find out what the fuss is all about, I’d say he’s your man. He has wonderful hands, don’t you think?”

Spluttering with embarrassment, Mortimer shooed his friend out of the room, Edmund leaving with a cackle as he waved jauntily at Mortimer.

“I’ll see you around!” Edmund grinned.

“Shut up and leave, you shameless man!” Mortimer replied, laughing despite himself. 

Closing the door, Mortimer’s smile was still fixed on his face as he turned towards Johann, though his face fell when he realized that he’d neglected to help Johann with the clean-up. 

“My apologies,” Mortimer said as he made his way back to the doctor. “Are you done with everything, then?” 

Johann chuckled at the show of anxiety. “I can handle myself perfectly fine, Mortimer, it’s no trouble. Besides, you seemed quite distracted throughout the whole examination that I didn’t dare disturb you.”

Mortimer flushed, his glance going to the bed where Edmund had seemed to enjoy his “treatment” greatly. “Sorry, my mind was going elsewhere.”

“Hmm, that much was obvious.” Johann smiled. “What had you so distracted, then?”

Mortimer tried to laugh it off, though the doctor stared at him until his laugh died out flatly. “Oh, I was just… well, we were talking about this yesterday, which was why Edmund decided to show up today I suppose. Sorry, I know Edmund could be a bit much, he’s always been one of those carefree people you’re always warned about.”

“I found his frankness refreshing,” Johann admitted, grinning. “I can see why you’re good friends.”

“Oh, yes, Edmund’s great! Though like I said, a bit much at times.” 

“Although I still didn’t see why that would have you so distracted. Was it because he was your friend? It can be quite a strange experience I suppose when you’re treating someone you’re familiar with.”

“I… yes, that was part of it.” Mortimer fidgeted with the straps as he swung the stirrups to the side, ready to take off the sheets to send it with the rest of the laundry.

“Oh? What was the other part of it?”

Mortimer could feel his face burning when he finally forced himself to spit the words out, wanting to get it over with. “I was curious as to how it felt.”

There were several seconds of silence wherein neither of them talked and Mortimer studiously avoided the doctor’s face as he fidgeted with the edges of the bedsheets. 

“Do you want a… demonstration?”

Whipping his face fast enough to develop a crick in his neck, Mortimer saw the amusement in Johann’s eyes once he made the offer. It was all he could do to nod, feeling ridiculously foolish at being so easily persuaded by his friend’s behavior and encouragement, enough to seek it for himself. 

“Very well,” Johann said when it became apparent that Mortimer wouldn’t speak further. “Would you like to take off your trousers then? You can do it here if you’d like, just take one of the fresh towels. I’ll just prepare the necessary things while you undress.”

“Uh, of course,” Mortimer said softly, beginning to do just that when Johann turned away to retrieve his supplies. There was a sound of running water and the crinkling of ice when Johann filled the water basin, and Mortimer tried to focus all his thoughts on the actions at hand to avoid thinking too hard about what was going to happen.

Once he had wrapped a towel around his waist, he laid his folded trousers on a nearby table before he took a deep breath and began to lie on the bed, feeling vaguely awkward and foolish when he was done.

His anxiety and shame heightened when Johann appeared by his side, the man giving him a soft smile before he busied himself with strapping Mortimer’s legs into the stirrups. He tried to chant to himself to think of it as a normal medical examination, though this too was interrupted when the towel around his waist began to slip downwards, revealing part of his lower body to the doctor.

Though he knew this was part of the treatment process, that he be half-naked for the doctor’s examination, it still filled him with a sense of shame and trepidation. He was sure that his face must be fully red by now, though Johann looked as if he didn’t make note of it as he slicked his fingers with the oil to prepare himself.

Had the sounds of the oil being warmed between Johann’s palm ever been this loud before? Mortimer may have noticed it previously, but all of his senses seemed to heighten now, especially when Johann’s fingers begin to probe at the rim of his hole.

His breath stuttering at the touch, Mortimer closed his eyes then. That made the experience all the more bearable somehow.

“Are you alright, Mortimer? Shall I begin?”

His “yes” came out strangled, and he kept his eyes shut when Johann’s fingers begin to massage his rim, stretching it firmly until a digit was able to slip inside. Another strained sound came out of him at that; it was a strange feeling at first, though he gradually got used to it after Johann spent minutes stretching him further. 

“Usually, I will be explaining what I’m doing,” Johann was saying, “but I suppose in this case we can forego with such explanations. I’m sure you’ve observed enough of the examinations to know every step, haven’t you?”

“Yes, quite,” Mortimer replied, his voice straining. His eyes were still screwed shut, and the sound of the doctor’s husky voice sending some sort of frisson inside him.

When the second digit entered him, Mortimer began to lose some of his embarrassment, thinking with some amusement that humans really  _ are  _ adaptable creatures. He was beginning to get used to the sensation when Johann’s fingers pressed against a nub inside him, the action making him cry out with pleasure.

“Oh my god,” Mortimer muttered, eyes flying open in shock. 

There was the sound of Johann chuckling as he withdrew his fingers to slick it with more oil before pressing inside again. “That, my dear Mortimer, is your prostate.”

There was nothing he could reply to that, really, so Mortimer kept his thoughts to himself until Johann curled his fingers against that spot inside him again, and all coherent thoughts were swiftly driven out of his head. 

His shame returned when his cock began to stir from the attention the doctor was paying to his prostate, the towel he was wearing tenting obscenely from his erection. Horrified, Mortimer directed his eyes to the ceiling, laying an arm over his eyes to hide how ashamed he felt.

“You do know there’s no cause for embarrassment, yes?” Johann’s voice floated back to him, calm and reassuring. “It’s a natural reaction, and of course that is exactly the aim of this treatment in the first place.”

“Yes, well,” Mortimer huffed, his voice trembling with suppressed pleasure. “Studying and experiencing it are two entirely different experiences.”

Chuckling, Johann pressed at his prostate more insistently, and Mortimer couldn’t help the loud moan he let out, his body arching into the increasingly pleasurable touches almost involuntarily. The restraints on his legs made it harder for him to move, and the thought of being at the doctor’s mercy was what finally tipped him over the edge as he shouted with his release.

Johann’s fingers did not stop its torture even after Mortimer came, and the resulting onslaught of sensations made his toes curl. He couldn’t move away, and he almost whined from the oversensitivity as more and more fluid poured out of his dribbling cock. By the time Johann’s fingers slipped out of him, the towel around his waist was soiled with his come.

Mortimer found that he couldn’t bring himself to care, not with the high from his orgasm still coursing through him. He whimpered when Johann made to move away, and he struggled to raise his body, forgetting that he was restrained still to the bed.

Johann came to his side then, presumably to loosen the straps around him, and Mortimer took the chance to pull the man by his damnable waistcoat before he crushed their lips together. 

There was a soft noise of surprise from Johann, though he returned the kiss just as savagely seconds later, their teeth knocking painfully together before the slides of their lips became gentler. Mortimer closed his eyes and sighed into the kiss, pulling Johann closer despite his messy state. 

Johann only pulled himself away when Mortimer seemed to have come down from his high, his eyes filled with desire even as he forced himself apart. “I was going to tell you that your prostate seemed to be in good shape, but I have a feeling that wasn’t why you asked for the examination.”

Mortimer let out a huff of laughter, swatting the man away. “Please don’t ruin the ambiance, it was going so well until now.”

Johann’s eyes were twinkling with amusement, though he did make a move to release Mortimer’s legs from the stirrup. Mortimer winced at the strain, unused to have his legs in such positions for a long period, and he took the time to stretch his body languidly on the bed before he set his eyes on Johann again.

Johann had been watching his every move as he stretched, and strangely enough, Mortimer found that he liked it. 

“Was it as pleasurable for you as it was for me?” he asked finally, a smile playing at his lips.

“I could think of more ways to make it more pleasurable for the both of us,” Johann replied, returning the smile. 

Mortimer could only guess at what the doctor meant at that, his face flushing at the thought. “I would be amenable to that.”

Johann grinned. “Good.” Pressing himself closer to Mortimer, he gave him a chaste kiss of the lips. “Meet me in my chambers tonight, then, and we can… continue your study.”

That was how Mortimer found himself lying on his back in Johann’s bed later that night as Johann thrust in and out of him, his body jerking rhythmically with every thrust. Unlike before, he let himself moan as much as he wanted to, wrapping his arms tighter around Johann’s shoulders to press himself closer to the man.

“Johann,” he panted, his nails digging into the man’s skin. “Oh god, please, more.”

Johann huffed, though his hands spread Mortimer’s legs wider at the pleas, his pace quickening. 

“I’ve wanted to do this to you for so long, you insatiable man,” Johann murmured, watching the way Mortimer whined and writhed at the admission, the man close to sobbing as Johann used his body long after he was made to come minutes earlier.

“Yes, yes, please,” Mortimer begged, needing more despite the pain mixed in with the pleasure. He was already hard again from Johann’s thrusts against his prostate, the man aiming for it with every movement. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you what you need,” Johann whispered in his ears, “and nothing more.”

Mortimer cursed at that, and Johann only grinned at him once more before he insinuated his hand between their sweat-slicked bodies. Still dazed from the waves of pleasure he’d been experiencing for the last half an hour, Mortimer whined when Johann pressed a knuckle to his perineum, the older man massaging it in circular motions even as his thrusts never faltered. 

The added pressure to his prostate sent Mortimer into another release, the waves of pleasure tinged with some amount of pain. Johann had managed to make him come three times in the last few hours, and he was still trying to come down from his orgasm when Johann finally, blessedly reached his climax.

“Oh thank god,” Mortimer managed to gasp out, his body finally going limp once Johann had finally found his relief. 

There was a huff of laughter before Johann pulled himself away and settled on his side instead, his eyes searching Mortimer’s carefully. Though the man was still sweating and breathing loudly from their exercise, he looked damnably composed for someone who was almost ten years his senior.

“How are you feeling?” Johann asked, finally. 

Mortimer huffed. “You just made me come again for the second time tonight, the third time in total. What do you think?”

“I think you look exquisite like this.”

Mortimer’s laughter died out when Johann kissed him softly, and he pushed Johann onto his back to settle his body against the other man’s, wincing at the soreness he felt. “I do believe the examination you did on me was of a different sort,” Mortimer said, yawning. 

“Oh? How so?”

“Don’t play coy.” Mortimer laughed. “I’m quite sure you only touched your patients in the most clinical way, and most of them didn’t quite achieve release from your treatment. Do you dare to deny this?”

Johann grinned. “Good, so you have been observing them properly.”

“Of course I did, what do you take me for,” Mortimer said, offended at the suggestion that he didn’t take the practice seriously.

Chuckling, Johann pressed another kiss against his lips. “Did I not admit that I’ve been wanting to touch you in this way for a while?”

“How long is a while?”

Johann seemed to give it some thought. “Perhaps when you seemed so flustered at hearing about the treatment. It made me want to see what kind of expressions you’d make when you’re under me, with my fingers inside you.”

“Oh god, please don’t,” Mortimer groaned. His cock stirred in interest, though his body could only take so much for the night.

“Ah, the wonders of youth,” Johann said, chuckling. 

Mortimer yawned again, his eyes heavy with sleep. His body felt sticky with their combined release, though he couldn’t bring himself to get out of the bed right now if his life depended on it. “Perhaps you can teach me more of your ways,” he murmured, eyes closing in exhaustion.

Johann’s hand stroked his curls in a languid motion then, his soft laughter rumbling through his chest where Mortimer’s face was pressed to it. 

“Oh believe me,” he replied. “We have so much more to explore when it comes to the pleasures your body could give you.”

“I look forward to it, then. Good night, Johann.”

“Good night, Mortimer.”


End file.
